


In Simpler Times

by hoothootcatdaddy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Bokuto Koutarou, Alpha Kuroo Tetsurou, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Author is a cis girl trying to write gay fanfiction, But he'll try to change things and once he does it's amazing, But he's kind of powerless because he's an omega, Kenma's the lazy social justice warrior, Kuroo has a harem so he's a bit of an asshole, Lev comes in later and he's nice to Kenma, M/M, Omega Akaashi Keiji, Omega Hinata Shouyou, Omega Kageyama Tobio, Omega Kozume Kenma, One-Sided Attraction, So it's cis-centric writing I apologise if it's not accurate, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:39:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoothootcatdaddy/pseuds/hoothootcatdaddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma's been in the palace since he was ten, and between trying to quash his crush on the alpha King and trying not to get pissed off too badly by the bumbling idiot Prince from the neighbouring country, he has his hands full. </p><p>Also this omega stereotype thing really pisses him off.</p><p> </p><p>A.K.A. Kuroo is an asshole who's spoiled with his own harem and Kenma's an unlikely social justice warrior.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “This is impossible. I’m definitely eloping.”
> 
> “Oho? What’s this?”
> 
>  
> 
> This turned out a little more light-hearted than I thought but it's perfect this way, I actually like it. This fic is really modeled after 2016's "The Bachelor", which I absolutely despise because of the way they treated Jubilee. So this is the love story I think Jubilee (Kenma) should have gotten as a socially awkward and slightly neurotic individual, with a better man (Kuroo), who, despite being in similar surroundings, would turn out for the better. Therefore Ben Higgins & crew, you can suck it.

A warm summer breeze swept over the lands of Fifteenth century Tokyo. The brilliant rays of the sun were just enough to cast a warm glow on your cheeks but not quite bright enough to make you squint, and the surface of your skin tingled happily as a light wind swept around your arms and ankles as if beseeching your body to join it in dance. The busy streets were teeming with people and noises, all sorts of delicious smells permeated the air as noisy hawkers shouted left and right to promote their ware. Lines of dried mackerel were hanging at the corner where the fish stall was, and rich smells of cooked pig intestine and braised soy noodles wafted from the open-air restaurant that was packed with early patrons. A bulky alpha carrying two buckets on a wooden pole meandered his way through the morning crowd, which mostly consisted of middle-aged omega ladies haggling over their pork or cabbage. He was selling refreshing drinks of lime and sour plum and rich sweet soy milk while calling loudly for patrons. Someone has called him over from the restaurant now, and he set his burden down to pour them bowls of deliciously sour juice from a wooden ladle. A story teller who sat at the corner had set up his puppet booth with several children gathered round keenly watching with rapture. Kenma longed to stay and listen, for it was one of his rare times being in the city. A gentle breeze carried over the scent of candy being freshly made and Kenma sniffed keenly; it really would have been a lovely day, if not for the fact that he was sort of being sold at this very moment.

Well, not this very moment to be precise. The exact moment could be pinpointed about a week ago when a group of strange Beta men and women came to his small village for an annual health screening exercise - it was free for children from the ages of eight to twelve, of course, but everyone knew that it was just a quick way to scout young, pretty omega servants for the Crown. This year, Kenma was ten. He’d almost been scouted last year as well but had failed the strength and dexterity test, which made his mother sorely disappointed.

Kenma was making his way over to the palace now with eleven other fellow omegas and a few Beta guards. To be quite honest he was rather surprised that a bourgeois neighbourhood such as this one was located so closely to the palace, though he sure couldn’t complain about the definite comfort the familiar smells brought him. A small hush came over the crowd as the group of omega children dressed in bright kimonos and large veils passed. Through the thin gauze material, Kenma could hear some of their whispers and he could see young toddlers staring up at the procession with wide mouths. Some local businessmen stopped their activities simply to turn and stare, and a few older women looked at him with some sort of pity and contempt as they nudged each other’s elbows to gossip loudly about the Emperor’s sex life. Kenma knew what a sight they must have seemed; a group of pre-pubescent omegas - just freshly presented - walking through a crowded street with their faint sweet scents that cut the heavy smell of food. Not to mention the fact that some of his fellow companions had been crying since they’d left home at dawn and he could practically drown in the scents of distress rolling off them in waves. In the restaurant, a table full of middle-aged alphas turned around to leer lecherously at them. One of them wolf-whistled quite theatrically, making the others laugh. It all made Kenma intensely uncomfortable.

Soon enough, they passed the street safely and it whisked back into a steady routine of its usual chaos. The buildings around them seemed to evolve; Kenma could spot fewer and fewer chips on the roofs, the people here dressed more respectably without any of the men going bare chested despite the hot summer air, and there were no street hawkers to be found. Instead, they passed shop after shop selling gold chains and silk materials and tailor services out of which the haughtiest-looking men and women walked, most of them with servants running after them, large parcels in their arms.

“We’re almost there!” One of the beta guards leading them called. “There’s the palace, children! There’s your new home.”

In a short distance, they could see the top of a red-roofed tower with statuettes of dragons on the side. A magnificent gate, fully red and embellished with gold, came into sight. It fit snugly into a stone wall that was being patrolled by smartly-dressed guards on the walkway at the top of the wall and two more smaller doors fit beside the large gateway, which was tightly drawn up and guarded by two soldiers. It seemed they’d just arrived in time to see the changing of the guards, and a girl beside Kenma clamoured excitedly while a few of the sniffling omegas burst into fresh tears.

“Hurry up,” one of the Beta guides pushed them impatiently, “We don’t have all day.”

They entered through one of the smaller doors, which opened into a wide courtyard surrounded by three imposing buildings. If the gates were magnificent, this was grand on a whole other level. The stoic Kenma was unexpectedly taken aback, the sheer grandiose of this place made him reel in surprise. What fine architecture! All the omegas quietened to stare in awe at the buildings. The stairs shone like marble - were probably marble - and the long pillars were decorated extensively with gold carvings. The roofs were all beautifully red and each brick was finely lain to create expansive sheets that seemed to defy all rules of gravity. And this wasn’t even all of the palace. Kenma thought of his own two-room house, with chipped doors and windows that let in the draft in the winter and a leaky ceiling that was a pain on rainy nights.

“This way, kids! You’ll be living in the North Wing, furthest away from this gate so we have a long way to walk.”

“Sir, shall we see our dormitories first?” A girl dared to ask.

“No, you’ll be seeing the head matron first.” An officer answered. “Yaku Morisuke.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Please call me Yaku-san.”

The man in front of them was short with light brown hair and he had a small but sincere smile, though his brows seemed to be creased permanently. He was young, in his late teens but he had a regal and proper air about him that could command the attention of a thousand men. If he weren’t an omega, Kenma was sure that he’d be an amazing general or official. He liked him immediately.

“Yaku-san is the head matron.” One of their beta guards supplied. “He’s the key caretaker of all the omegas in the house and is in charge of the domestic living of the royal family. Yaku-san, I believe you’ll take it from here so we’ll go back to our duties?”

“Of course, thank you officers.”

With a bow, the officers retreated. Yaku turned around to regard them individually as his eyes swept across the room. His gaze was steely and shrewd and Kenma straightened immediately.

“Alright let’s get down to it, I believe you all know what you’re here for.” Yaku addressed them after a pause. “All of you are servants to the Crown now. This is your new home. Look around you. The person standing next to you is now your brother or sister, so please treat them kindly. You will be responsible for yourself here, so I want no petty fights and no tears -”

He turned his gaze on a pretty blonde omega with particularly red eyes and he stood straight in alarm.

“You’ll do your own laundry and washing - I’ll show you where later - and your family will not be here to help you. Instead, we are your family now, you will share your woes and happiness with us and we will give you comfort. But don’t be mistaken - you are no longer your mother’s child, you are a servant. You are an adult and you will be treated as such. You will serve the royal family and their word is your command; I don’t want any nonsense from any of you being disrespectful or impertinent because you will be punished if you are.”

Half the omegas were quaking in fear now and a the rest tried to hold back their tears with no avail. Kenma did neither, though he was scared he’s never been a particularly expressive child. Yaku glanced sparingly at him before he smiled at the group.

“Don’t look so distressed my dears,” he said in a comforting tone. “It’s your first day yet. Our masters are not cruel and they will be just and fair towards you. Come on now, I’ll show you your dormitories.”

 

* * *

 

 

Yaku-san lived in a small building by himself, which also served as a clinic of sorts for omega servants when they are ill and a heat house whenever they went into heat. It was a small way from the kitchen and the dormitories, which were incredibly large and spacious as it housed more than three hundred omega servants, young and old. The building was long and elongated, and omegas were divided by rank and age group. As a result, he lived in the part furthest away from Yaku-san’s room but nearer to the visitors’ quarters. On their way there, they passed many older, experienced omegas, some of whom greeted them with a friendly smile and a word of advice. Kenma liked them for the most part as he thought they were sincere and friendly. Still, knowing the unwritten rule about omegas older than twenty, more than one newcomer looked at them with pity.

“Hmph! What a disgrace to still be living here.” A dark haired boy stated haughtily, as if forgetting that he’d cried the loudest just five minutes before. “I would feel like such a failure if I still lived here when I am twenty-five. My aim is to be head matron, like Yaku-san!”

He was loud, cruelly loud, and Kenma could spy some of the omegas looking away in shame at his words. He developed an immediate distaste for him, though it seemed like there’s no need as Yaku had heard his words, and he didn’t take kindly to them.

“You there!” Yaku turned around and narrowed his eyes. The boy stopped his yabbering mid-sentence to stand up straight in shock. “You’re Kageyama Tobio, right? Son of the Minister of Education, Daichi Sawamura?”

“Yes sir!”

“Well I don’t care what your background is, Kageyama-kun, but I meant it when I said we’re all family here. You will not sneer at your family, your seniors! Is that understood?”

“Yes Yaku-san.” The boy seemed very distressed,.

“Good. Let’s go then.” Yaku patted Kageyama on his shoulder and he lit up slightly. Kenma had to bite his lip to prevent himself from laughing.

When they’d finally reached his room, Kenma was exhausted. He wanted to just fall asleep when he saw the soft futons rolled up in the corners of each room they passed to drop off every newcomer. About ten omegas shared one room, and only Kageyama and Kenma had been assigned to the same room. Great.

“Akaashi-kun!” Yaku called and a boy about Kenma’s age with sleepy eyes and curly short hair appeared at the door. “Newbies are here. Take care of them, will you?”

“Of course, Yaku-san.” He answered politely, and smiled at them when he left. Up close, Akaashi was exceedingly pretty. He had long, curled lashes and a stubborn but pretty mouth which was now curled up into a lovely smile.

“I’m Akaashi Kenji,” he said with a pleasant but dry tone. “You could call me Akaashi or Kenji, I don’t mind. I’m head of this dormitory, you’ll be living with me along with seven other omegas, whom you’ll meet soon. They’re outside now, actually, preparing for lunch. Would you care to join?”

Kenma hadn’t cared to join. He opened his mouth to reject, but Akaashi was staring at him with his wide, pretty eyes that seemed to twinkle as he spoke.

“We’re having apple-infused mochi as dessert. The chef’s having the recipe tested.”

Damn he was persuasive. “When are we having lunch?”

 

* * *

 

 

A month had passed since his first day (the most memorable part of which was the delicious apple mochi) and Kenma has learnt a lot of things. He’s made some (read: two) new friends, including Akaashi and this orange-haired omega boy called Hinata Shouyou. One of the lessons he’s learnt is that it is a big mistake to choose the futon next to Hinata because firstly the boy snored and secondly that meant Kageyama slept on his left, hence he was often caught in the middle of their endless and pointless arguments. Kageyama’s edges from the first day seemed to have rounded off since he decided that Shouyou was his new rival, which was good because he could work off his bad temper on the equally vivacious and headstrong redhead, who never seemed to mind Kageyama’s insults no matter how hurtful they would have been to someone else. He wasn’t afraid to stand up to Kageyama’s powerful background and point out his flaws, which to Kenma’s surprise, the surly boy seemed to appreciate and learn from. Kenma’s dislike for the boy has decreased drastically from the first day.

“My mother died two years ago.” Kageyama said to Kenma woefully (but awkwardly) one day when he had caught him crying. “So I understand what you feel about missing home and all.”

He was wrong of course, Kenma’s feelings couldn’t exactly be categorised as missing home, but he didn’t correct the earnest boy and asked instead:

“What was her name?”

“Oh my mother was a man.” Kageyama corrected excitedly. “His name was Sugawara Koushi, and he had the most beautiful smile.”

Ever since that night Kenma couldn’t really bring himself to dislike Kageyama. No one really could dislike another person who had so much love in his eyes when he talked about his mother.

Kenma was getting used to his new job as well, which mainly comprised waiting on the concubines in the West Wing alongside his older mentor, a beautiful twenty-two year old girl called Kiyoko Shimizu. She was simply gorgeous, and Kenma wondered why she hadn’t been chosen as a concubine. She had laughed when he voiced his concerns one day.

“It’s my bad luck I suppose. The current king is quite aged and he’s not thinking of taking any more concubines.” She smiled. “And I am too old for the king’s alpha children, so I suppose I’ll have to live till I’m thirty-five in this palace, then leave to get a job as a nanny or something!”

Kenma admired her alacrity. With her around, he didn’t mind as much their mundane task of bringing heavy pots of hot water from the kitchen in the East Wing to the concubine quarters in the West. They could wait to use the pushcart of course, but older omegas reserved their use first and the concubine they were serving wasn’t patient about waiting for his hot water. Horrible architectural planning, he thought more than once as he had to lug the water on the long (and completely unnecessary, or so he thought) journey. He really was lucky getting so many great friends and mentors, so much so that he could more easily ignore the meaner parts of his days where other omegas or sometimes concubines would comment spitefully on his skinny stature and “weird golden eyes”, things which used to really bother him back at home. But here he had Akaashi to comfort him, and Hinata fiercely (though sometimes with a stupid amount of bravado) protected him from the occasional cruel word.

But things were not always so peachy of course, Kenma still had times when he wanted (albeit momentarily) to die from loneliness or fear and sometimes despair. Today was one of those times it seemed; it started simply as a day where you knew you’d be unlucky from the moment you tried to get breakfast but everything was gone and you had to ask the bad-tempered chef for a cold bun that had been sitting out in the chilly autumn air the entire night. Also, Kiyoko-san was in her pre-heat, and she’d been weak and feverish the previous day and the whole of the morning. She’d meant to get herself to the heat house that very day, but a fellow omega who was supposed to substitute her in mentoring Kenma had unexpectedly gone into an early heat, and Kiyoko was far too responsible to let Kenma on his own.

“It’s fine.” Kiyoko had reassured when Kenma tried to protest. “I know my heats and it’ll only begin in the evening. It’ll be okay.”

It wasn’t. Kiyoko collapsed with weakness in the middle of serving the ill-tempered concubine, who had been ill-tempered the entire week because the King hadn’t consummated with him for a fortnight. He snapped at the unfortunate Kiyoko, and at Kenma in succession.

“How useless are you that you cannot wring a towel right?” He was so loud his handmaidens turned to stare from behind the door. “Get away from my sight, I don’t wish to see such trash.”

Kenma carried Kiyoko with some difficulty on his back and staggered away. On his way to Yaku’s residence, he stumbled into a Beta officer who yelped in shock.

“Yachi-san?” He stated in surprise. This was the officer who’d scouted him from his village, and she’d been immensely kind to him.

“Kozume-san?” She asked. “What a pleasure to see you! Who’s this you’ve got here? Do you need any help?”

“Yes Kiyoko-san is about to go into heat.” Kenma said, a little anxious. “Would you please help me carry her to Yaku-san’s place? It’s a little far I know but - “

“Say no more!” Yachi smiled brightly. “I’ll get a stretcher and we’ll carry her together it’ll be much faster this way.”

“Thank you so much!”

In a while she’d gotten a stretcher and they sped off. Yachi-san may be small, but she was deceptively strong and quick, so the journey was made rather quickly though they had to take a longer route to avoid any alphas.

“We’re here Kiyoko-san!” Yachi tried to soothe her. “Hang on!”

“I’m sorry Sir I’ll get another towel.” Tears had fallen down her cheeks and Kenma was devastated to see her cry. So was Yachi, if Kenma had bothered to look, but he didn’t, he was too busy drying her tears.

“Don’t worry Kiyoko-san you did well.”

“I’ve failed my master!” She said faintly and deliriously, arousal just beginning to hit her as more tears streamed down her face. “I’ve failed him!”

They arrived soon enough at their destination, and a sympathetic Yaku urgently ushered them inside and got Kiyoko into a secluded room. She’d be there for a few days, riding out a heat that felt worse than the hottest summer day, alone.

“Thank you Yachi-san, you’ve been great help.” Yaku said warmly to her, and she flushed in delight.

“It was no problem, Sir,” she smiled kindly. “It was my pleasure to help Miss Kiyoko!”

With that, both Yachi and Kenma got sent on their way. Kenma was supposed to return to the bad-tempered man, but he hesitated. He was getting angrier the more he thought about it, how dared he be so rude and bossy simply because he entered the palace a few years before Kiyoko-san did! It was travesty; Kiyoko-san was an amazing and kind omega and she’d be an amazing mate but now she’d have to spend the rest of her days alone without one. She’d surely have been chosen as concubine if the stars hadn’t somehow worked against her, she’s so beautiful. Why could the royal alphas have so many mates and concubines, with three hundred more omega servants waiting to be picked like mackerels hanging on a line? It was incredibly unfair, and Kenma was in a mood to rebel. The concubine wouldn’t miss him anyway, he had more handmaidens to boss around. In a huff, he rushed off to his favourite secluded spot near the dormitories; between the visitors’ quarters and the school. It was a school for the royal princes and other alphas and betas from noble families and he could almost always hear the lessons from outside the building; Akaashi had discovered the place after he entered the palace and soon introduced it to Kenma.

“I think it’s important for omegas to read and write, don’t you think?” Akaashi had said breathlessly after running away with Kenma when they’d heard someone coming. “My mother’s always said so, and though my father protested she’d still taught me to read and write.”

Akaashi’s father was a General of high standing in the military, and his mother was the daughter of a nobleman, as Kenma had learnt from Hinata soon after he entered the palace. His father was strict and wanted Akaashi to grow up a fine, well-mannered, lovely omega whom the next King would hopefully choose as Queen, so despite his mother’s protests he was sent to the palace as a servant of the royal family. It was, after all, the most direct route that young omega children from rich families took if they wanted to be chosen as mates for the royals. Kenma’s thought it a waste of Akaashi’s great talents as well, but he said nothing since his friend had seemed bent on pursuing his father’s dreams.

_My dream_ , Akaashi would say, _is to do my family proud._

As a result of Akaashi’s influence, Kenma learned to love learning. He’d never even touched a book his entire life before coming to the palace, but Kenma was a fast learner. Within a month, he’d learnt how to recognise most words and he now could read many books without a problem, though his writing was still a work in progress. His handwriting was unstable and illegible, because he was frankly lazy and couldn’t be bothered to train his writing hand, something which Akaashi’s admonished him over while he shrugged with signature apathy. Being unnecessarily hardworking to please the eyes of others wasn’t really his thing. In any case, he could read and write, the former which he was currently trying to do if not for the fact that he found it immensely difficult to concentrate as he was frankly still fuming. The cool autumn air wasn’t helping his fiery little heart, either.

With an exasperated sigh, he slammed the book down into his lap and said a little vindictively, “This is impossible. I’m definitely eloping.”

“Oho? What’s this?”

 

* * *

 

 

This is it for the first chapter everyone! I've not fully decided on what I want to do with this yet, so if you have any headcanons please feel free to submit them on [hoothootcatdaddy](http://hoothootcatdaddy.tumblr.com/), my tumblr. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading the previous chapter, some of the flow wasn't that good and the writing style is not perfect. But moving swiftly on I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter, I tried to edit it as well as I could:D

“Oho? What’s this?”

Kenma whipped his head around at the intruder’s dark voice as he jumped back in alarm. Bowing in apology, he tried to teeter away as quickly as possible on his geta. He really shouldn’t be here, Yaku-san would be punished if he were caught slacking.

“Wait wait! What’s the hurry?” His captor huffed urgently and slammed his palm on the wall next to Kenma’s head. “I don’t see other kids around often, I mean of course there’s Koutarou but he’s an idiot… Anyway I just want to talk!”

This close, Kenma could smell him - there lingered in the air a faint scent of leather and bitter cocoa that was nearly covered with the seasonal smell of winter coal, but there was no doubt about it nonetheless; this was an alpha. That was bad. This close to the school he was either a royal son or the offspring of a nobility. There was no choice then, Kenma decided that he had to try and placate this boy as much as he could. Stifling a sigh, he looked up.

Before he could stop himself, Kenma barked out a laugh.

There was a boy dressed in a fully black kimono with red collars and he had a larger-than-life grin that spread annoyingly across his smug face, but what was striking about him was his incredibly messy mop of black curls sitting where hair was supposed to be. Frankly, it looked like a raven had taken a watery shit on his head.

The boy snapped out of his smouldering stare and his lips turned into a frown.

“Hey what you laughing at?” he patted at his hair self-consciously and pointed at the small bun on the crown of his head. “This is a proper hair-do, you know? Took Hinata-kun ages to do!”

At Hinata’s name, Kenma perked up.

“You know Shouyou?” He inquired, interested.

Pleased at getting Kenma’s attention, the boy’s smirk returned as he leaned sleazily into his arm. “Chibi-chan? Of course I know him. He’s the servant of my -.”

“So you’re Bokuto-san,” Kenma stated. “Shouyou talks about you a lot since he started work at the visitors’ centre.”

The boy froze a bit before he answered with a wide grin.

“Of course, I’m Bokuto, I’m the general’s son and I’m a big strong alpha, so you’d better listen to me! Hey Hey Hey!”

Kenma regarded him coldly before bowing to leave. “If you’ll excuse me I have to return to work.”

“Hey wait up! I was joking!”

 

* * *

 

 

In the next week, Kenma made a new friend. The first time he went back to his corner and he saw the messy mop he turned around to leave at once, but the latter begged him to stay and looked so pathetically whiny that Kenma had to stay out of the pure kindness in his heart. Also, he’d brought some cold candied apples so that was a plus. It was annoying at first, since his secret sanctuary is no longer so secret or sanctuary; his new companion was chatty, and somewhat provocative in the way he spoke, and Kenma frustrated himself daily trying to come up with witty replies (after a while he realised that silence was the way to go).

Despite all that, Kenma was surprised to find that he truly enjoyed his company. The alpha was perceptive and intelligent, and he could sit quietly to his own devices while Kenma read stories after stories about lands and people far away. Moreover, he was incredibly helpful as a study buddy, always willing to teach words that Kenma hadn’t learned and he always seemed to have new books for Kenma’s - and Akaashi’s because Kenma was a generous friend - reading pleasure, which was great.

Today, he was supposed to meet him at their usual place after lunch. It was nearing the Great Tsukimi celebrations and the King had chosen Kenma’s master to accompany him on the religious visit to the oldest temple in the country. Luckily, it meant that Kenma and Kiyoko-san had the day off, though they did have to deal with a whole week’s worth of the concubine’s anxious preparations and short-temper. For her break, Kiyoko-san has opted to accompany Yachi to tea outside the palace; the two had grown considerably closer since the omega learnt of Yachi’s share of help during her heat, which Kenma suspects the Beta to be a little too happy about.

Kenma tried to jog as quickly as possible past the visitors’ centre to the small shed at the edge of the Imperial garden which the alpha had introduced to Kenma since the younger boy divulged his fear of getting caught. It was an old shed, seeming to have been abandoned by the gardeners in favour of the newer place next to the performance hall, but no one cared enough to take it down, so it stayed. Yet, it was not dilapidated to the point of overgrowth and it retained a certain amount of privacy hidden behind the thick foliage that was grown in abundance. In short, it was perfect for their rendezvous, and Kenma had to wonder more than once at his friend’s curious familiarity of the palace when he’d apparently only stayed here for a few weeks. After running a short distance, Kenma could make out the messy hair against some light and he privately thanked the alpha for his good sense in bringing a heating lamp.

“Kenma! Look here, I’ve brought a Shogi set!” he waved Kenma over with a lazy grin.

“Bokuto, don’t yell,” he admonished softly. “What if the gardeners came?”

“Oh don’t worry, since Father left the palace they’re all gathering at the kitchen to gamble.”

“Oh, the General is going to the temple too? That’s strange.” Kenma asked in surprise. “Why aren’t you going then?”

The boy seemed to still, and he smoothed his ridiculous hair sheepishly. “Ha, yeah, I’m not going since I’m too young... Anyway! Let’s play chess, Kenma, I’m sure you’ll love it!”

 

* * *

 

 

In about an hour, the alpha seemed like he was starting to regret ever teaching Kenma the strategies that were being treacherously used against him now.

“Check.”

“HAHA KENMA! You thought you’d get the better of me here, but no!” the raven-haired boy laughed maniacally, sweat covering his brow, while he moved his knight a step down.

Amateur move, Kenma thought with a tiny smile as he moved his pawn further up.

“Checkmate. Bokuto, I knew you’d make that move. You kept looking at the knight, it was so obvious.”

With an unnecessary amount of drama - so Kenma thought - he grabbed at his rat’s nest hair and swooned to the floor with a theatrical cry. Kenma rolled his eyes at the boy, whose face was now firmly planted on the dirty floor (with the support of his palm, of course, because the boy was a surprising clean freak with a too generous opinion of his own face).

“Vanquished. Defeated. Betrayed by the young one I’ve raised as my own.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Bokuto, it’s just a game.”

“It’s just a game, did you say Kenma?” The alpha flipped his head up, hair flopping wildly. “It’s just a game? I cannot believe your insensitivity, wow. I came out to have a good time and I honestly feel so attacked right now.”

Kenma threw him an indifferent glance as his companion sputtered with indignance. “Look, I’m going to read now if you don’t want to play anymore.”

The alpha made a noise like he was dying and waved his free hand at Kenma in mock resignation. Snorting, Kenma picked up his book. He was reading a book by a Russian author - it was beautiful prose about love and life and Kenma was enthralled with every word. Typically he’d be too lazy to read a whole book but texts from far away gripped his heart tight with passionate, debilitating emotions and set his soul as free as the swallows in the sky. This one portrayed beautiful lands and sea, which Kenma hadn’t ever been to in his entire life. It was described to be a deep colour of crystal emerald and so huge that no one ever saw the end of a horizon. There were fishes in it, fishes he ate daily that used to swim with monsters lurking in the deep dark, a whole new world waiting to be explored. Kenma hasn’t ever seen a live fish in motion before and the thought enthralled him.

“Bokuto, where’s Russia?” Kenma asked.

“It’s the land up North,” his friend answers. “Y’know, the place where the favoured concubine Alisa is from.”

If the alpha sounded bitter Kenma was too star-struck to tell, “I wish I could see it one day.”

“Of course you can,” the alpha raised his brows at him, “I’ll bring you there.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Bokuto, I’ll only leave this place when I’m thirty-five. You’ll have mated by then and you’d have your own family.”

“Then I’ll make you my mate Kenma,” he said with a sudden conviction that made Kenma’ heart beat with alarm. “I’ll get the King to give you to me, and I’ll make you mine.”

“Stupid.” But Kenma couldn’t help the soft smile that spread across his lips, which the boy mirrored with a Cheshire grin.

 

* * *

 

 

“Bo!” A dark-haired boy burst into visitor’s centre, causing the wooden frames of painted screen doors to wobble helplessly against the axels. “I’m bored, play with me.”

“Bro! How I’ve missed you!” The owl haired boy with large golden eyes jumped up from his seats to wrap his arms around his friend’s neck, which the latter shunned with a neat side-step.

“I’m not here for fun, Bokuto! I’ve got serious matters to do. Let’s go out to play!”

Bokuto pouted from the tatami flooring, “but I can’t Kuroo! Mother found out about me skipping class and she was so angry, I have to write this poem out fifty times, she’s scary!”

He paused and twiddled his thumbs before looking up at Kuroo with watery eyes. “And anyway why do you need me now since you’re always playing with that kid and all you talk about when you come is Kenma-this and Kenma-that! You don’t love me anymore!”

He flung his body onto the floor and swung his arm around with practiced flair. Kuroo threaded his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh. As much as he loved Bokuto, he was horrible at handling him in his emotional state.

“C’mon Bro, you know it’s not like that!” Kuroo stepped forward and gave his shoulder a soft tug. A sniffle and Bokuto turned his head away.

“Come on Bo,” Kuroo gave him a back hug and nuzzled his neck - if the servants saw this it’d be rather scandalous -, “you’re my best bro and no one can take me away from you. Please?”

“Really?” Bokuto blinked at him with wide amber eyes through wet lashes.

“Of course!”

“BRO!” Bokuto tackled Kuroo to the floor and smothered him in an uncomfortably sweaty hug.

Take it like real alpha, Kuroo Tetsurou. Take it like a man.

It was one of the overbearing bits of Bokuto’s personality that came with the whole wonderful package. The general’s youngest son has always been a strange addition to the life of Kuroo Tetsurou. Not only is he the most needy person Kuroo knew (and he’d grown up in a palace full of pining, whiny omegas), Bokuto drew out the strangest sides of his personality that Kuroo never knew existed. Sometimes it was refreshing and fun and interesting, but other times Bokuto could be downright suffocating. Nevertheless, Bokuto was a good friend; he’s a good listener and cares about Kuroo’s problems as if they were his own.

“Anyway Kubro, what’s up with kitty? You’re still pretending to be me?”

Kuroo groaned at the reminder. “What do I do? I’m getting closer and closer to him everyday and he doesn’t even know who I am!”

“Tell him who you are then!”

“Bo - I can’t. I value him as a friend I mean he’s so smart and kinda cute but not everyone’s like you, Bo, he’d treat me differently once he knows I’m a Kuroo.”

“Well maybe, but if he’s that sort of person maybe he’s not worth having as a friend in the first place!”

Kuroo sat up in alertness, and stared at Bokuto warily. He never ceases to be surprised when Bokuto’s random sage-like qualities appear.

“Hmm”

“ANYWAY Bro I have this new toy actually it’s just a push-cart I stole and I really want to try riding it down the stairs SO LET’S GO”

“GREAT IDEA BO LET’S GO”

 

* * *

 

 

The past week has been incredibly busy for Kenma because the Tsukimi celebrations were coming and the omegas had to help with decorations - on top of their increased work load since all the concubines were in this frenzied mode of preparation to be the prettiest they could be. Between fetching water and delivering jewelry design boards or fabric to dissatisfied and rude concubines, Kenma would be surprised if he had the presence of mind to do any reading, much less play chess with his new friend. It didn’t stop Kuroo from bothering him at his dormitory where Kenma was doing his chores.

“Kenma ~” Kuroo tapped his knuckles teasingly on the back of his scalp. “Whatchu doing?”

“Go away Bokuto I’m really tired. And you’re not supposed to be here.”

“You’re mean, Kenma!” Kuroo tried to shove his pouting face under Kenma’s nose in a bid to get his attention. “Anyway, look what I got you - it’s Journey to the West!”

Kenma looked up immediately. Journey to the West was a new Chinese book that was incredibly difficult to procure; if Kuroo hadn’t befriended that Chinese envoy a few days ago, he’d be left in the dust too. Kenma reached for the package with interest.

Encouraged, Kuroo lifted the book high into the air.

“Nuh-uh, Kitty!” He taunted, “You wanted me to go away! So you don’t get my present now.”

Feighning a sigh, he added, “So I guess I’ll just go then, not sure if Koutarou would be interested.”

He was turning to walk away, but hid a smile as soon as he felt a soft tug on the elbow of his robes.

“Give it to me.” Kenma pleaded, then as an afterthought, “Please.”

“Hmm, should I give?” Kenma nodded with the most eager look he could muster and Kuroo smirked knowingly, “It might be worth it just to see you face. You totally have this excited expression when you get new things to read!”

“I do not make an expression, Bokuto.This book is for Akaashi, he wants it really badly.”

“You do make an expression. Your eyes sparkle like anything and your cheeks turn red.”

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

Kuroo paused.

“Do too.”

“Do not.”

“Look, do you want this book for not? I’m not giving it away for free.”

Kenma sighed sardonically, “What should I do then? It’d be my greatest honour to be of service, I’m sure.”

Kuroo grinned sinisterly and leaned into Kenma’s personal space. “Kiss me,” his grin grew wider as he tapped his right cheek with his chubby finger. “Kiss me and you get the book.”

A few moments passed with Kenma just staring blankly at him and Kuroo was afraid he’d gone too far. Laughing awkwardly, he scratched the back of his neck and prepared to offer the book with an apology.

“Well you don’t really have t-”

The words got stuck in his throat as Kenma leaned up to give him a small kitten peck, and immediately held out his hand without so much as a falter, expression blank as ever.

“The book. It’s mine now.”

“HEY”

“The book.”

“You’re no fun” Kuroo pouted. “Unscrupulous.”

Handing over the book, Kuroo watched in fascination as Kenma’s eyes lit up with an ever-so-tiny sparkle. Kenma let his hand wander over the red wooden cover, nails scratching lightly into the grooves. “It’s lovely, Bokuto, thank you.”

“Ha, you’re welcome kitty,” Kuroo scratched his head in discomfort, “about that, Kenma, I do have something to say -”

“Kenma! Yaku-san is calling us!” A pretty boy with dark skin and a head full of curls popped his head in. He raised his brows at Kuroo for a second before hurrying down the hall.

“Got it!” Kenma answered, turning to Kuroo. “That’s Akaashi.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway I have to go, I’ll see you at the shed after Tsukimi?”

“Sure kitten.”

 

* * *

 

 

Festive celebrations never came. The night before, the solemn sound of the palace bell enveloped the dark, liveless capital city. The King has passed on. Overnight, celebrations turned into mourning, and an old reign made way for a young sovereign.

“The old King has returned to heaven.” read the decree plastered on the boards of every city. “His only son, Kuroo Tetsurou, will take the throne and continue leading our great nation to peace and prosperity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unsatisfactory ending! Sorry, will be slightly angsty from now on.


End file.
